Knitting, Botany, Mycology, Nature, Adventure, and Life... in no particular order.
Text
Oh well
My goal was to complete a pair of cabled mittens between February 12th and 28th. I figured with about a week for each one how could I go wrong.
Well, I went wrong. It turns out I just didn’t push all that hard and often opted for not knitting instead of tired knitting. (Which is more of a problem with a complicated pattern on little needles with little yarn. Tinking sucks. I avoided it.) I am only just now ready to put the thumb stitches of the first mitten on a holder!
So I’m a Knitting Olympic non-medalist. Next time. I did manage to watch a lot of olympics, finish my shawl, and just enjoy myself overall. I also managed to not need to tear out any part of my mittens. I made it there, I participated. Not everyone gets a medal.
To make up for it, here are a few pictures of my lovely shawl. It’s the Citron pattern from Knitty! (Which I am sure I have mentioned before.) Ta-da!
Text
Miles to go before I sleep
I am fully immersed in the Knitting Olympics! I have been watching the actual Olympics, I have been working on my mittens, and I have been up on knitting olympics/Ravelympics forums. However I still don’t think I’m in the full swing of things. (If I were I would be much farther along on my first mitten.)
So it is the 4th full day of the Olympics (both kinds) and I am tired. Not of knitting or watching people do amazing things, actually sleepy tired. (From staying up too late watching skating and knitting.) And as I was sitting here, thinking about how it is only now the end of the workday, my favorite poem popped into my head. At least the last couple lines did: “but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” (For those not in the know: Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost) And it is true.
Here I have ahead of me my French class and then heading home, normally to bed, but probably to watch some Olympics and knit before bed. However, in a longer sense, I still have not finished my Citron shawl (only about 10 rows to go) and the deadline is Friday if I want it for NYC and I am only on round 47 of my first mitten (this includes the cuff… the main mitten is 81 rounds before the joining and I am only on round 7). The possibility of finishing these things seems impossibly far away, though the timing seems impossibly close. Yet I promised myself that I would achieve these things, and I plan to keep that promise.
Still, the whole prospect excites me, and like in the poem, I feel like it is ok to sometimes pause and take a look at where you are and the amazing sites around you, even if for me it is only my knitting or mug of tea or (currently) the snowy evening and the sound of snow shushing off the roof at work and thunking onto the ground below. It reinvigorates me for the journey ahead and the promises I have to keep. I may have miles to go before I sleep, but I’m ready to be on my way.
Note 1: You can be assured this poem will come up again in future posts so you might as well memorize it if you haven’t already. Note 2: I promise my next post will have pictures of knitting if I am going to talk about knitting. I have none with me right now though. Sorry.
Text
Olympic Dream
I never thought I would get to take part in the winter olympics, but it turns out 2010 is my year. I am going to officially participate in the Knitting Olympics that were founded by the Yarn Harlot. See this year’s announcement (and over 600 comments) here.
What are the Knitting Olympics? What types of events am I planning on competing in? Am I just plain nuts?
Well, you can go and read about the knitting olympics at length, as well as about the version done on Ravelry, the Ravelympics. I was interested a little, but it was really the Yarn Harlot who inspired me. The Knitting Olympics are when, during the Winter Olympics you, during the course of the games, you canst on and complete a whole project that you find difficult or challenging in some way. Be it a large project, a complicated project, new techniques, etc. More skilled knitletes are taking on things like full stranded Norwegian style sweaters and Alice Starmore cabled sweaters. On Ravelry events are names things like “Cable Cross-Country,” “Nordic Colorwork Combined,” and “Sweaterboard Cross.” But basically there are event types for anything you might want to do, and it also doesn’t need to be conceptualized in such a formal way. Some people even take on multiple projects/events… like knitting 2 sweaters!
What kind of olympian do I want to be? That took some thought. Since the Olympics start 6pm PST on the 12th and finish just before midnight PST on the 28th (almost 3am for me!) it is a compact length of time, and I am not too fast a knitter. Part of my decision was around what I have in my stash, part about patterns I have been meaning to knit, and part about choosing something challenging. It came down to socks vs. mittens. I have yet to finish a pair of adult socks, but I also have been planning on knitting the Jared Flood Druid Mittens for over a year. Both would be challenging, both give me an easy halfway mark to get to, both would be a real achievement. My event: the cabled mittens!
This I think answers the third question: I am totally nuts. (However so are hundreds, if not thousands of other knitters.) Then again, if you think about it, so are olympic athletes. think about it.
So, now I have until Friday to finish the Citron shawl I have been working on (15 rows to go! over 200 stitches per row…) so I can wear it to NYC. And I need to work in some other “training” for the Olympics. Some stretching, some rest, and the little bit of pre-olympic limbering up (read gauge-swatching so I know what size needles to use). Also, unlike an actual olympic athlete, I can drink either tea or beer while participating in my event. (Unless there are actual olympic events you can do this in…)
Also, it just so happens, that I love to watch the olympics and have had the schedule on my desktop for a few weeks now. I mean with things like luge, bobsled, the biathlon, downhill, halfpipe, hockey, speed skating, and curling who wouldn’t be excited?! I mean, my guy might not be thrilled by the amount of time I will want to watch things that are not video game related, but he’s very understanding and we’re finally going to set up the other tv, so it should be ok.
So, 9pm this Friday it all begins. The opening ceremony: The lighting of the torch OR The cast on! Who wants in?!
Text
Nosta-fail
I have a lovely nostepinne made of walnut wood that matches a beautiful handmade swift I got from my parents for my birthday last year. I love both. I love slowly hand winding a center pull ball of yarn and getting to feel the fiber as I create something to knit from. It’s a slower process than using a ball winder, and it has taken practice and reading instructions on the internet, but I now wind a lovely ball of of yarn. Specifically a ball of about worsted weight yarn of a manageable length.
I have discovered that when it comes to winding thinner weight yarn, either I need a lot more practice or I really need to use a ball winder or just make a plain old ball of yarn. This is what happened to my Malabrigo sock yarn, and it actually got worse before I have now started to rewind it.
This isn’t slippery with silk in it even, just happy soft merino wool. No knitting tonight for me, just slowly fixing the mess I created. Perhaps it is time to give in and put a ball winder on the list of knitting things I would like to have.
Text
New Year?
Technically, thanks to our man JC (Julius Cesar), January begins the new calendar year. We’ve entered the future here in 2010. While picking any arbitrary date to start fresh is perfectly ok, I think I am going to start the new year in the spring. So no big changes from me till then, and even then, very likely, no big changes.
In the mean time I have managed to make very slow progress on my Citron shawl. The pattern is a joy, the yarn is a joy, the color… you get the picture. I just haven’t been very speedy. Actually, because it is so simple in some ways I tend to pay less attention and then realize I have messed something up and have to go back! Gah! Soon (as in after participating in the 2010 MIT mystery hunt, since there is no way to knit and solve mind-crushingly difficult puzzles) I will make a renewed effort! I want to have the shawl complete, maybe by the end of February to wear to NYC, and I really need to pick up speed on the afghan again!
The rest of my time has been absorbed by holidays, friends, TV series on DVD, sleeping, Professor Layton and the Curious Village (just recently, and very addictively), and Glee! Have you not seen Glee? Oh the horror! You’ve only missed the first half of the season, which resumes in the spring. Go Catch Up! and thank me later.
Text
Self-Inflicted Knitting Torture
I was being so good for the Christmas holiday! I packed light and was off! My handsome fella and I did the Christmas Day run-around to see everyone. We say his Dad & crew, his Mom and family, and eventually my parents as well. He went back to spend more time with his family and I then stayed with mine.
The next morning I headed down to LI to do Christmas with the Mom’s-side clan. Sweet, a 4 hour-ish car ride to work on the lovely cabled afghan. And as we were getting everything in the car that’s when it hit me, I didn’t have the notebook with the pattern in it. Nooooooo
Turns out that the combination of weening myself down to one project, having had the notebook with another project I wanted to do some charting for, and hurried Christmas morning packing left me with a bag of knitting and no way to execute it. (There was no way I was going to wing it, not after managing the last fix when I made a mistake!)
So can you believe it is now the 28th of December and I have not knit at all starting the 24th (at least). Gadzooks! Then again, I think we all know what I will spend some time doing today!
(Hint: cabled afghan, maybe the pirate hat, winding yarn and swatching for Citron, and maybe working on the chart for the hat for a buddy of mine)
Text
Can’t Believe It Worked!
So back a few posts ago I showed how I had messed up on the blanket I am knitting for a couple friends who got married. I had missed a cable and was fraught on what to do. I decided to follow the good advice and instructions by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on her Yarn Harlot blog. I quickly discovered that I had to drop back more than the 5 offending stitches but the whole center panel! *Gasp of terror!*
So, I dropped and managed to pick up all the correct stitches. (I did some of this on the commuter rail where a lovely Irish gentleman that works for the New England Aquarium commented on how beautiful my work was and that it must be hard to do in dark colors compared to his sister that has won awards at home but usually knits in white.) So this is what I ended up with:
Deep breath looking at all those dropped rows
However, once I finally had all the stitches picked up from the same correct row, and once I figured out which row I was on, it really wasn’t so bad. I knit it back up over a couple of sittings so as not to get too tired and make another mistake. (Oh the horror!) and finally made it back to where I started on Saturday night while playing a role playing game with some friends that cutie is running. (Insert nerd/geek jokes at will.) I am pretty sure this again makes me my own superhero. (FYI that superhero is always either early or 80’s female empowerment Wonder Woman)
And now I’ve continued along, good as new, and have even now added the 4th ball of yarn. I think it looks pretty darn good, and I may have lost 2 weeks but I probably didn’t loose reknitting about 2400 stitches! At this point it would be fair to say I have knit about 18,200 if you don’t include mistake fixing! Whoa!
Text
Feeling Famous
So back when my handsome fella was living in Philly I used to frequent a magnificent yarn shop called Loop. Oh the selections! Oh the fair prices! Oh the great light, sofas, and great staff! (We visited in August, and we’ll visit again!)
So it turns out on their blog they like to post photos of projects people have knit with yarn from the store. They have a great flickr page. So I sent a few photos, and Craig asked if he could post them (to what I assumed would be the flickr page). Sure I said, and meant. Lo and behold, they wrote a blog post with my pictures!
Wow! Totally psycehd! Thanks Loop!
Later, more on that cable trouble with the afghan… with pictures!
Text
Big trouble in cable city
So I’m working on knitting a present for a couple of friends of mine who got married. (Technically I have the whole first year so who cares if I cast on after the wedding!) It’s a mod of a complicated Starmore sweater into a lovely afghan. A few cables, a bit of simple lace, and viola!
So the thing about cables is that though they are simple in theory, there are some problems that can arrise, especially if one is lazy and does not actually use someting to underline their working row on all the charts.
Here is the panel in question:
Can you see the problem? How about now?
So this is what it is supposed to look like:
and this is what I have:
and if you look back to the first picture you might notice I have knit quite a bit since then. A whole additional repeat from where that mistake is. About 23 rows. 23 ROWS! And now I see that I have 3 options:
- Leave it, say that hand knit things have mistakes, and never look back!
- Drop back just those 5 stitches and see if I can figure out how to fix it and reknit everything along the way with just the cable needle, crochet hook, and my wits.
- Frog back 23 rows and fix the mistake and then reknit 23 rows.
As I see it 1 is straight out. I refuse to succumb to my own stupidity and laziness at forgetting a cable cross. Number 2 is terrifying and yet if it works is the least amount of work. I just haven’t yet figured out how exactly it would work, though I can usually figure out how to grab stitches as knits and purls, not usually 5 in a row with cables. The final option will work if the second option fails. (So long as I don’t drop other things along the way. I am suddenly considering lifelines for every pattern repeat.) However the idea of reknitting that many rows is inconceivable very hard. The backside rows speed along, but the front-side rows, when I am in a good rhythm and everything is moving perfectly probably take me no less than 10 minutes, which means if I was only doing front rows perfectly then it would take me about 2 hours of perfect knitting to redo all that work.
I think morning is a better time to tackle this, perhaps even afternoon after coffee and a lot of thinking. I may even have to phone a friend for some help, if only moral support! (Chocolate and wine may be on hand for the post results in case of both good or bad. Or beer, beer alyways helps… right? Maybe I should have one of those now.)
Text
Muted Garter Love
I’ve got this lovely bit of yarn on my needles… all garter stitch with tones blending and changing. The yarn is Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe (Rav. Link), which is always fantastic to work with. (Note: I have not met a Koigu yarn I did not love madly.)
I’m hoping the finished object turns out just right.
Text
Beer differences
Things beer may make seem different (or actually be different)
- Role playing (especially if you are new/nervous)
- Knitting tension
That is all I am currently testing. Results to follow.
Text
Spit Happens
I successfully spit felted to skeins of yarn together last Sunday! The colors of the 2 skeins even matched up (which it variegated yarn is asking a bit). I unwound the ends a bit, mushed them together, used some liiquid (moisture from the outside of my cup of iced chai) and after some rubbing and twisting: voila! 1 uberlong bit of yarn with no knots!
Text
Fall Aspirations
So the temperature has dropped and it is cool and gray and rainy outside. This weather is perfect for knitting and drinking copious amounts of tea! (note to self: find more decaf black tea, preferably lady gray.) The tricky thing becomes sticking with something long enough to finish it!
Right now I am working on (or about to start):
- An afghan in Sheep Shop One wool in beautiful blues using cables from Alice Starmore’s St. Brigid. I cast on after the wedding it is a gift for so I really better stick with that!
- A lace mobius cowl in Three Irish Girls Springvale Super Merino in Devon (a beautiful mix of greens that are very spring like). Meant to do this earlier, but after having made the same pattern (Prickle) for a swap gift I know I can do the whole thing in 12 or so hours of knitting.
- BSJ! That’s right, I’m about the start the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern for the Baby Surprise Jacket. The yarn: Koigu Kertsi Merino Crepe! Excitement level very high. Too bad I need to gauge swatch still. :(
- Pirate/skull hats! Some of my favorite people have moved to Durham and the boys have requested hats, pirate hats. So they’ll get matching hats, one with blue details and the other with red (as requested). It’ll take longer to get cold there, but I still better get started on those… which means going and buying yarn. :)
- Owed hats: 1 for my knitting buddy and pastery expert and 1 for my nerdy love. I already did 1/2 for my buddy, however ran into a problem and since it’s lace and the pattern is flat and I’m doing it in the round I’ve ignored it for probably at least 6 months! For the cutie I actually knit the hat once… to big around and not long enough. Superfast knit if I get my act in gear.
I think that’s a big enough list for now. Should allow lots of options for difficulty, attention, techniques and fiber. :) However I also would like another fall scarf for myself, preferably something that looks smashing with my new brown herringbone blazer/fall coat.
I better get of my computer and pick up my needles!
Text
Planning
Some of you who know me may realize that while I am up for spontaneous fun and adventure, I like planning. I think it’s the act or organization, making lists, making piles, plotting courses, etc. If I didn’t like those things I would probably be less good at my job and I probably would not have done as many cool things on vacation in Seattle and San Francisco in the past.
So what am I planning now? Well there is the upcoming and forementioned trip to Maine, which requires good amounts of gathering of various nerdy equipment (and also material to explain and exemplify herbarium practices); a wedding present to make and give to my friends (well after their wedding next month it seems) that has me plotting with cables and with lace; what to make for a ravelry swap partner that lives way off in Canada (yarn to be purchased soon); and a running training schedule!
So the knitting things all seem reasonable and logical and unsurprising. (I spent a good portion of yesterday with graph paper and reference books!) The trip to Maine also seems like a good thing to plan. Showing up at a field station without your favorite reference books or flashlight or collecting gear (or Pooh Bear) would make for a difficult week! And well, of course I want to be organized and prepared to help figure out how the collections there could be handeled and grown, that takes a lot of thinking and energy! But running… that doesn’t seem so plannable, or does it.
A group of friends at work and I are going to participate in the Susan G. Komen 5K run in Massachusetts on September 26th. People will be running, joging, walking, pushing strollers, etc all to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research in Massachusetts. In addition to feeling like it was a good time to step up and raise some money, I felt like it was good time to step up my running game, so I joined a team. While there is no real onus by the team to run, and our training is fun, I have decided to go for it. 5K is a mere 3.1 miles, and I hope to really give it my all. Hence the planning. I have a decent schedule for the 8 weeks before the race and I hope to get my time in at 27 minutes at the highest. Right now I can do it in about 31-33 minutes so that seems reasonable. BUT this is planning that now leads into longer term planning…
I am giong to sign up and run my first ever 1/2 marathon in November! The Harvard Pilgrim Maine Coast Half Marathon in York ME! Whew! I’m excited/terrified, but now I have plenty of time to plan. Anyone want to join me?
Text
Sum Magna Anas
This is Roland Anas, duck #10 from the Odd Ducks swap group on Ravelry. Roland seemed both a good name for the little fellow and harks back to Roland Thaxter, mycologist and entomologist who did a great deal of world traveling.
He and I have also visitied the HMNH together so far
And then he helped me at work
Hopefully this weekend we’ll go the the Boston Public Gardens and visit the Swan Boats and the Make Way for Ducklings statues.
Page 1 of 2
